Well, the 2011 Rainbow Awards have begun. I have a few of the books I’ll be reading and judging, and I would expect I’ll have a few more by the time summer is over.

Here’s the hashtag, #2011rainbowawards, for tweeting about it. The more people who tweet with the hashtag, the more other people know about the Rainbow Awards. And hashtags really do work on twitter.

If you’re interested in entering a book, please check out this link. And remember, the rainbow awards are open to anyone writing lgbt books, which means even if you’re not openly lgbt you can enter your book.

And, digital books are also accepted in The Rainbow Awards and it won’t cost you anything out of your own pocket to enter…no postage, no trips to the post office (what’s the post office?), and no ordering your own books in case you don’t have print copies.

For those who don’t feel like clicking the link, here are the guidelines below.

The book must be published between September 2010 and August 2011 (both months included). – Self-published books are eligible (print on demand publishers, like Lulu.com and Smashwords, are included in the “self-published” umbrella). – Ebook editions of previously published print books are not eligible. First time print book editions of previously published ebooks are eligible. A book that has been republished by a different publisher after its initial publication is not eligible. A book that was previously self-published by the author, and then republished by a publisher after its initial publication is eligible.

SUBMISSION PROCESS

– Books submitted for consideration will be accepted between March 15 and September 15. Winners will be announced in December. – A book can be submitted only by its author or by its publisher. Submit a book in the category most appropriate: please indicate Gender (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual/Transgender) and Genre (Coming of Age / Young Adult, Contemporary General Fiction, Contemporary Erotica, Contemporary Romance, Fantasy, Historical, Mystery / Thriller, Paranormal / Horror, Sci-Fic / Futuristic, Non Fiction). – The commision can include some books at their own expenses, if they are eligible, especially in those categories with not enough submissions. – Books are submitted in electronic version (PDFs); exceptions will be considered (please contact me). Submitting the ebook, authors/publishers agree for its distribution with the only purpose of being read by the commission (from 3 to 5 judges). It’s recommended but not mandatory, that the PDF file has some kind of protection, like a specific disclaimer or similar. – No submission fees required. – Books (PDF format) have to be sent to the following address: elisa(dot)rolle(at)libero(dot)it

CATEGORIES

– A book can be submitted in only one category. – If a category receives fewer than five (5) submissions, the category will not be active in this awards cycle. The submitted books will be reassigned to another category if appropriate. – Gender Category: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual/Transgender – Genre Category: Coming of Age / Young Adult, Contemporary General Fiction, Contemporary Erotica, Contemporary Romance, Fantasy, Historical, Mystery / Thriller, Paranormal / Horror, Sci-Fic / Futuristic, Non Fiction – Length Category: Novel of more than 41,000 Words. Novellas and Short Stories will be considered only on the following conditions: Novellas (between 18,000 and 41,000 Words) only in Collection of 2 or more collected together; Short Stories (<18,000 Words) only in Collection of 4 or more collected together. A single submission has to be of more than 41.000 Words. Exception will be considered if a single category will have not enough submissions.

JURY

– Judges will start to read books in May; reading period will finish in November (included). – Each judge will read a minimum of 5 books. Authors/Publishers/Editors will not read books in categories where a their own book is submitted. – Each book will be judge using 4 different criteria: Plot Development, Setting Development, Characters Development and Writing Style. From 1 to 10 points for each criteria. – Judges will receive only the ebooks they have to read. (PDF files) – Judges will have to indicate what categories they are not comfortable to read. – To be a judge, please contact me; Authors/Publishers/Editors/Reviewers/Readers are welcomed, if I don’t know you (you are not in my friends list, we are not on the same groups,…), please provide an introduction and some sort of reference for being eligible to judge a LGBT themed book.

Author of over 100 published LGBT romance novels and stories, including AN OFFICER AND HIS GENTLEMAN and best selling VIRGIN BILLIONAIRE SERIES. Hates beets.
New Hope, PA Palm Springs, CA
ryan-field.blogspot.com